The "Standard of Ur" from ancient Mesopotamia

04 April 2012

Stuff in my yard: What a difference a zoom makes!

One of my frustrations in taking pictures for myself and for this blog has been that the 4X optical zoom on our camera is not enough to capture the many wild animals around our property, which don't tolerate our being nearby.

When my husband and I realized recently that we would be too busy this summer to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary, I convinced him that since we're saving so much money, we should get a new camera. Our camera has not worked properly for at least a year. But it is only four years old, so it felt too new to replace without a good excuse. I at last had one.

Cameras have advanced a lot in four years. One can now get a 35X optical zoom in a point-and-shoot camera—so I did.

Here are some pictures I took to test out the new camera's capabilities. Most of them use a zoom of 25X or more. I think I'll be posting more "Stuff in my yard" posts now that I can take pictures like these easily.

baby squirrel, taken from inside the house through a window

lizard on stucco wall, taken outside from 15+ feet away

California quail, taken from inside the house through a window

cactus blossoms

Bad squirrel! Bad squirrel!(taken from my office while I sat at my desk;the specks are seed pieces and bird lint on the window)